St Ives holidays

How to reach St Ives

• Flight time: The nearest major airport to St Ives is Newquay Cornwall Airport, about an hour’s drive away. Flights to Newquay from London and other major UK cities, like Manchester and Newcastle, take around an hour.

• Transfer time: From Newquay Cornwall Airport, you can reach St Ives by taking a bus to St Erth and then a scenic train ride on the St Ives Bay Line, with a total journey time of around 1 hour and 45 minutes.

• Price: A taxi from Newquay Cornwall Airport to St Ives costs between £50 and £70. The bus and train combination costs around £15 to £20. If you’re driving, forget about parking in town and instead use one of the several park-and-ride options available.

Weather and best time to visit St Ives

Owing to the popularity of its world-class galleries, St Ives is a year-round destination, although the town is usually heaving in summer.

• March to May: Spring is a lovely time to visit St Ives. The weather is mild, with average temperatures ranging from 8°C to 15°C and around 6 to 8 hours of sunshine each day, although rain is not uncommon. This is also a good time to walk the coast path minus the crowds.

• June to August: This is peak season for holidays to St Ives as the town is invariably thronged with holidaymakers. Therefore be sure to book ahead any accommodation, activities and excursions. Temperatures average between 16°C and 22°C but are often much higher.

• September to November: Crowds begin to thin and the beaches quieten, as do the town’s attractions, which makes this the most appealing time of the year to visit. Temperatures gradually cool from 18°C to around 10°C as autumn draws on.

• December to February: While cooler and wetter, with temperatures between 5°C and 10°C, winter in St Ives can be just as enjoyable – it’s a good time to pay a visit to the galleries, followed by a pint in one of the town’s many convivial pubs.

Practical information

• Spoken languages: English is the primary language, although you will hear the distinct Cornish accent around town.

• Local habits and customs: The good folk of St Ives are well known for their welcoming nature, being well versed in hosting large numbers of visitors.

• Health and safety: The town is very safe, but take the usual precautions to protect your belongings, especially on crowded beaches.

• Currency: The currency is the British Pound Sterling (£). ATMs are widely available, and credit/debit cards are accepted almost everywhere.

• Getting around: St Ives is a compact town, making it ideal for walking, although the St Ives Bay Line offers a scenic train ride between St Ives and St Erth.

• Time zone: GMT, switching to British Summer Time from late March to late October.

Best things to do in St Ives

With its higgledy-piggledy flower-decked lanes, ubiquitous galleries and stunning beaches, St Ives has a little something for everyone.

Viewpoints and panoramas

• The Island: Despite its name, the Island is actually a headland – and one that offers breathless views of the Atlantic Ocean.

• Godrevy Point: One of the best spots for wildlife-watchers anywhere in Cornwall, with dolphins, porpoises and seabirds waiting to be seen, and a large grey seal colony in nearby Mutton Cove.

The best districts

• Harbour and Wharf Road: The town’s busy, bustling core: this is St Ives at its prettiest, and is especially atmospheric when the boats come and go.

• Downalong: A delightful enclave filled with narrow winding streets and traditional fishermen’s cottages, this is St Ives at its loveliest.

Museums

• Tate St Ives: The town’s greatest cultural asset, Tate St Ives consummately fulfils its role as the region’s primary showcase for challenging, locally based art.

• St Ives Museum: Housed in an old Sailors’ Mission, St Ives Museum will appeal to anyone with magpie curiosity – there’s even a turtle that had wandered over to Cornwall from Mexico and was subsequently stuffed!

Parks and gardens

• Trewyn Gardens: In need of relief from the claustrophobic lanes of St Ives? Take a picnic – or just a breather – in this miniature haven cocooned from the crowds and furnished with banana trees and wooden sculptures of musicians around the lawns.

• Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden: Not only does this wonderful subtropical garden have a permanent installation of the artist’s monumental sculptures, but it offers a welcome respite from the hubbub of town.

Historical monuments

• St Ives Parish Church: This beautiful medieval church draws people in to see its stunning architecture.

• The Leach Pottery: Devotees of Bernard Leach’s Japanese-inspired ceramics can visit his studio, where you can see the original workshops used by Leach and Shoji Hamada in 1920.

Day trips in the area

• Lizard Point: England’s southernmost cape has a bracing, windswept appeal, with exhilarating walks and a diverse range of flora.

• Minack Theatre: Perched on a clifftop, this mini-amphitheatre hewn out of the rock makes a memorable venue for drama and music productions. One really not to be missed.

• St Michael’s Mount: This doughty edifice perched on a granite promontory in Mount’s Bay is besieged by the sea at high tide, which is why it’s so much fun getting here: either by ferry at high tide or on foot along the cobblestoned causeway at low tide.

Activities for families in St Ives

Sand aside, St Ives has more than enough to keep your offspring occupied, from arts and crafts activities to encounters with local wildlife.

• Beaches: St Ives is endowed with a whopping number of stunning beaches, but bijou Porthgwidden is by far the best for families – and for those with dogs, pearly Porthkidney Sands (‘Happy Dog Beach’) is the one to aim for.

• Aquariums and zoos: A short drive away in Hayle, Paradise Park Wildlife Sanctuary is home to otters, penguins, red pandas and more – best of all are the bird flying displays.

• Interactive museums: Both the Tate St Ives and Barbara Hepworth Museum offer a roster of engaging activities and workshops for kids, making art and history fun.

• Wildlife watching trips: Who doesn’t love the opportunity to try and spot creatures in their natural habitat? Various companies operate trips out of the harbour, where there’s every chance you might spot dolphins, seals and other marine wildlife.

• Leach Pottery: This marvellous attraction offers family-friendly workshops where kids can get their hands well and truly mucky while learning all about this timeless craft.

Free things to do in St Ives

St Ives holidays needn’t mean dipping into the wallet, and there are various ways in which you can enjoy your time here without breaking the bank.

• Free events: The town’s key event is the St Ives September Festival, one of Cornwall’s liveliest cultural gatherings, featuring free (as well as ticketed) music, art and cultural activities.

• Explore St Ives by public transport: The scenic St Ives Bay Line is a wonderful way to explore the area, and while not free, tickets are very cheap.

• Parks and gardens: St Ives’ parks, such as Trewyn Gardens and the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden, make for relaxing, and free, entertainment.

Nature and outdoor activities in St Ives

For those who thrive in the great outdoors, St Ives has it all. Surfing aside, there’s the promise of many other kinds of water-based sports, as well as some of the finest walking in the southwest.

• Hiking and walking: The South West Coast Path runs through St Ives, the section from St Ives to Zennor being a particularly scenic (though not undemanding) stretch. Other fine trails include the walk to Clodgy Point and the Island.

• Surfing: It may not be the mecca that Newquay is, but the quality of surfing to be had here is still tremendous. The wide expanse of Porthmeor Beach and its exposure to Atlantic rollers makes it the most popular beach with surfers.

• Cycling: Pedalheads will enjoy the Cornish Way cycle track, a very manageable (and very flat) track running from Penzance to Marazion; it has the added bonus of access to St Michael’s Mount.

• Wildlife watching: The cliffs and coastal areas around St Ives are great for spotting wildlife. Keep a keen eye out for seals, dolphins and a variety of seabirds, particularly off Godrevy Head.

Local dishes in St Ives

The town’s foodie legacy is fast catching up with its artistic one, and one of the great delights of holidays to St Ives is the opportunity to sample the town’s rich culinary offerings, which – of course – include glistening seafood straight off the boat.

A typical dish

• Cornish Pasty: Cornwall’s greatest export, these delicious morsels are neatly crimped on the rounded edge and filled with gravy-soaked steak, turnip and potato.

Fish and seafood dishes

• Crab Sandwiches: Nothing beats a sandwich stuffed full of fresh Cornish crab, typically served with a squeeze of lemon and a salad on the side.

• Stargazy Pie: A fish pie with the heads and tails of the fish – traditionally pilchards or mackerel – sticking out of the pastry. Tradition suggests that it originated after a local fisherman returned from a storm with seven types of fish, which were then cooked in a pie with their heads sticking out for easy identification.

Sweets and desserts

Made with local clotted cream, Cornish ice cream is creamier and more indulgent (and fattening) than your average ice cream, and there’s also Cornish saffron cake, a heavy loaf baked with currants and saffron.

Local drinks

• Cornish Ale: Cornish ale is ace, none more so than that produced at the St Ives Brewery, who also offer tours and have their own taproom; try a pint of Helles Mouth or the fruitier That’s my Jam.

• Cornish Cider: Among local ciders, Cornish Rattler from Healey’s Cyder Farm outside Newquay has achieved nationwide fame, but you’re all but guaranteed to see other local ciders and perries (pear ciders) in pubs and farm shops.